The Call

This weekend we had nineteen Costa Ricans staying at the Multiplication Center for Vista Previa. Most of them were here to get some of their questions answered about ministry and, more specifically, cross-cultural missions. As the "encargada" (one in charge) Kari organized the event, recruited teachers and even cleaned up after the activities. My own participation was limited to greeting the participants and enjoying conversations with them over coffee. However, this morning I did have the privilege of sharing with the group for an hour on the subject of "the call to missions."

There is only one real problem with this - I don't think I was ever really called to missions!

The first time I ever remember hearing about missions was over milk and cookies at Rev. Harry Woods' house. He was my friend Jeff's grandfather and, in my contemporary opinion, a trouble-maker. At the very least, I know I would have avoided a lot of trouble in my own life if I hadn't paid so much attention to his stories about being a missionary in the Orient. My guess is I was also served the occasional glass of Kool-Aid there because I certainly drank it!

Hearing my father's cousin, Bill Pencille, talk about his experiences as a missionary in Bolivia probably did not help much. Rockford, as he was called in our family, had a way of telling a story. He made you think that serving God in Latin America was important AND a real adventure.

Truth be told, there were a lot of experiences, conversations, and closed and opened doors that concluded with Su and I making our own move to Bolivia in 1978. Nobody appeared to us in our dreams telling us to go to South America. Neither of us "walked forward" at a student missions conference. I guess we just "up and went."

Now, that is not saying we did not have a calling on our lives. In fact, the Bible tells us a number of things we have been called to:

• I Corinthians 7:15 tells us that we have been called to live in peace.
• I Timothy 6:12 reminds us that we were called to eternal life and that we should fight or compete for the faith.
• I Thessalonians 2:12 instructs us that we are called to live as part of God's kingdom and for His glory.

In all, I count over 100 times that we are called to something, someone or somewhere (mostly heaven) in the New Testament. I am pretty sure that "call" is one of the most common verbs in the Bible. What I am not so sure of is how many people actually respond to those calls.

Can I be honest? Going to La Paz all those years ago was easy compared to responding to some of the other things we have been called to do or be as followers of Jesus Christ. Living somewhere is always easier than living as someone - especially when that someone is a disciple of Jesus.

This morning, as I looked out at the group of mostly young people attending Vista Previa, I realized I had become the "old guy" telling the missions stories. I can only hope that some of the things I shared will have the same impact as the words Pastors Woods and Pencille shared with me all those years ago. I hope that some of those young Latins capture a vision for living out their calling as disciples in some of the challenging places where we are mobilizing missionaries today.